My Progressive Women’s Voices colleague Sonia Osario is up to some amazing stuff as the head of NOW-NYC. Like this event, for instance:

The Girlfriend’s Guide To Marriage
April 17th, 2008, 6:30 pm

Don’t just plan your wedding, plan your marriage. Join NOW-NYC for The Girlfriend’s Guide to Marriage, and learn the top 10 things you should know before getting married. Speak with our relationship and legal experts, and tackle questions on every bride’s mind. His name or yours? Is it better to combine banking accounts or keep them separate? The first year of marriage can be the most difficult, but we can help you make a smooth transition. Featuring attorney, Sherri Donovan, matrimonial and family law expert.

Event will be held at NOW-NYC office | 150 West 28th Street (btw. 6th & 7th) | RSVP (212) 627-9895 | $7 donation for non-members.

All so very topical, of course, for this girl with a pen who is getting married this summer. And keeping her name. Or maybe hyphenating. But definitely not giving it up. My name, that is.

Oh my gosh–my mother has learned how to post comments at the New York Times! Mom, you make me proud! Renee (aka Mom, pictured left) posted in response to my online convo with Courtney over at Marci’s blog last week, Shifting Careers. Since I’m bursting with pride at Renee’s willingness to learn, and since I also loved what she wrote, I’m reposting her comment here:

“I really enjoyed this discussion between Deborah and Courtney– it touches on so many of the issues that I faced when I entered the work force. It is interesting to me, although a bit disappointing that younger feminists are still trying to achieve things like good child care, flexible hours, and that they ‘appear’ to be asking too much. Sense of entitlement? To me, if it is for valid reasons and causes, it’s fine. Entitlement only for oneself, without working for authentic and reasonable goals to be shared with other women, is not acceptable. Keep up the dialogue!” -Renee

And while I’m at it, I can’t resist posting this comment from some dude who thinks I’m a liar:

“Uh, I’m sorry but Ms. Siegal should not lie about here age. Clearly, she is no older than 29. If you wanna add some legitimacy to this debate a ‘boomer’ would have really been interesting.”
— Posted by Steven Cayce

Well, I AM 39 (as I’m IDed in the post) and for a wider range of generational perspective Steven, I invite you to come hear the panel Courtney and I doing at Harvard with Gloria Feldt and Kristal Brent Zook on April 18. For more on “WomenGirlsLadies: A FRESH Conversation Across Generations,” I invite folks to check out our group blog!

Tonight I’ll be teaming up with my lovely (and very pregnant!) coeditor from Only Child, Daphne Uviller, for a workshop at Mediaistro on “Breaking into Anthology Writing.” There are still a few slots left, so if interested, please join us!

WHEN Monday, April 7, 6:30-9:30 pm
WHERE mediabistro.com, 494 Broadway (Spring & Broome), New York, NY 10012
DIRECTIONS subway directions, map
PRICE $65 ($50 for )

Here’s the description:

Anthologies are among the most powerful and poignant records of the times in which we live. As a writer, anthologies are also a superb way to break into the business, learn the ropes , and get your name on the book. Publishers are more likely to take a chance on your proposal because you’ve got the weight of other established writers behind you. But with so many currently on the shelves, the market for selling anthologies has become highly competitive. You may have a great, funny, important, and original idea for a collection of essays that has an obvious audience, but what do you need to do to make your anthology stand out?

In this seminar, you will learn how to:

• Write a proposal
• Find contributors
• Manage and edit submissions
• Work with purchasing editors
• Make the best use of your in-house publicist
• Self-publicize

Participants will leave with a timeline in hand detailing the process by which they could reasonably expect to complete a salable anthology.

Speaking of war, do check out Courtney’s post on a recent New Yorker article titled “Exposure: The Woman Behind the Camera at Abu Ghraib,” by Phillip Gourevitch and Errol Morris. Writes Courtney:

In it, they look closely at the life of Sabrina Harman, the young soldier who took the photos of prisoner abuse at Abu Ghraib that have come to haunt us. The piece is so powerful, in part because the authors rely heavily on quotations from those involved, particularly Harman. Unlike most New Yorker pieces, which I find sometimes err on missing the voices of those at the center of the issue, this one is full of organic wanderings by the soldiers who got caught up in that horrendous place and time…What becomes clear very quickly is that Harman used her camera as a way to process the dissonance between what she felt was right–a small but nagging sentiment–and what she was watching happen all around her to the point of normalization. The lens becomes her way of organizing the world, of making sense of the nonsensical. Interestingly, she is known as the one who won’t even let people kill a bug, but she never speaks out directly about the abuse being heaped on detainees. Clearly this contrast tells us something even more frightening about the power of conditioning. She wasn’t seeing bugs tortured day in and day out. She was seeing people endure that to the point that it no longer seemed like something to endure or end.

Also, I just caught up on the news that the last bastion of male dominance in the US Navy has been cracked.Women will now be allowed to serve on submarines. It’s absolutely a step in the right direction, but damn if I don’t wish we could just put an end to all this war. (Via feministing).

This weekend completed my 3-month training as part of the first class of Progressive Women’s Voices at the Women’s Media Center. I can’t say enough good things about this program, but suffice it to say that I’ve LOVED being a part of its charter class. A highlight this weekend was hearing Code Pink’s Jodie Evans, who is also a WMC Board Member, reflect on her own experience with the media as a grassroots activist. Jodie seeks always to be “provocative and distinctive” in her voice. She blogs to get noticed by radio, and actually does radio–different programs–one hour each day, which makes for excellent practice. She makes a point of always telling a story, and gets very personal and very real, as that, in the end, is what moves people.

I was personally so moved by Jodie that I went up and hugged her at the end (and I have no idea whether she’s a hugger, whoops). Her authenticity was so apparent, it was hard not to be moved. I asked her how she maintains that kind of genuine performance in front of a camera, as I have a FAR easier time connecting with audiences in person, and even with a radio host, but shine that camera on me and I generally go rigid inside. Her response: “Practice getting naked on camera. Practice practice practice. And get out of your own way. Remember, you’re not speaking for yourself, you’re speaking for others who can’t be there.” Wise words, truly.

Jodie also spoke of her personal goals, and the importance of waking up other women to use their own voices, and of moving the person closest to her, so she can then move the person closest to her. She reminded us all not to get stuck in the “I’m right, you’re wrong” space, and to carry emotion (ie anger) in your body but not in your voice when on the air.

I’m excited for those taking part in the second class of Progressive Women’s Voices and look forward to joining them. And keep an eye out for Code Pink after April 15 (Tax Day), as they’ve got a very hot message brewing. That’s all I’ll say…for now!

I’m so struck with the footage that keeps looping over and over today, from the Lorraine Motel. And with the remembrances coming through the cables, bloglines, and wires. So many, but I wanted to share these three rather poignant ones:

Addie Stan
Reuben Jackson
Kai Wright

Tonight at 7PM, Kathleen Sweeney–who I enjoyed meeting at WAM! last weekend–will be reading from her new book, Maiden USA: Girl Icons Come of Age here in NYC at Bluestockings. Sweeney, a girls studies scholar, charts the pantheon of new girl icons that have surfaced in the past 15 years. From the book’s description:

“Maiden USA explores images of powerful, contradictory pop culture icons of the past decade, which run the gamut from Mean Girls and their Endangered Victims to Superheroines and Ingenue Goddesses. Are girls of the Title IX generation in need of Internet protection, or are they Supergirls evolving beyond gender stereotypes to rescue us all?”

The book provides an overview of girl trends since the ’90s including the emergence of girls’ digital media-making and self-representation venues on MySpace, Facebook and YouTube as the newest wave of Girl Power. With brainiacs and athletic champions offered as antidotes to mean girls and lolitas, and with the emergence of self-representation venues on the internet, what is the significance of such contradictory imagery for the culture at large? Sweeney will address this question and also show animations created by teenage girls from across the country. FUN!!

Yep, I’m looking for an intern to begin work 5-10 hours/week starting between now and May and ending in August. Primary responsibilities will entail:
• pitching talks and workshops to campuses and organizations for Fall 2008
• organizing content for a new website (comfort with WordPress, or willingness to learn, a plus!)

For the first month, compensation will be hourly. Changing to a commission-based payment arrangement will be considered during month two (in other words, the intern could receive a percentage of the fee received for any talk or workshop that she books for me for the Fall).

Qualifications:
• strong writing skills a must
• aggressive outreach skills (email, phone)
• meticulous follow-up ability
• familiarity with Excel spreadsheet
• availability to meet by phone once/week and in person in NYC once/month

Perks:
• networking networking networking!
• opportunity to guest post regularly on Girl w/ Pen
• all work will be done off-site/remotely
• great for someone interested in PR, marketing, book promotion, feminist organizations, women’s studies, the writing/speaking circuit

If interested, please send cover note and resume to me directly at girlwpen@yahoo.com. (To learn more about the kinds of talks and workshops, you can read more about my work over at www.deborahsiegel.net.)

This just in, via Ann Friedman:

The American Prospect’s Writing Fellows Program offers young journalists the opportunity to spend two full years at the magazine in Washington, D.C., actively developing, practicing, and honing their journalistic skills. Each Fellow will write between three and four full-length feature articles. Fellows will also regularly write shorter, online pieces and blog daily for TAPPED.

The Fellows are expected and encouraged to write for other publications, build relationships with editors and reporters, and establish rapport with contacts at think tanks and in academia. The goal is to ensure that, once the fellowship is completed, Fellows will have developed the relationships, track record, and credibility (and clips!) to launch themselves as respected young journalists. Past Prospect Writing Fellows have gone on to work and write for The New York Times, The New Republic, The Nation, The Atlantic, Slate, Salon, Mother Jones, Newsweek, The Boston Globe and many other publications.

People of color and women are strongly encouraged to apply; they are committed to a diverse workplace, and to support their people with ongoing career development opportunities.

But hurry! The next deadline for applications for the writing fellowship is May 1, 2008 (postmarked), and the application package is pretty involved. Please contact Emily Parsons with any questions at eparsons@prospect.org.

A few weeks back I threw up a call for regular guest bloggers here on GWP, and I’m THRILLED to announce that you’ve taken me up on it! I’ll be introducing you to our regulars one by one soon, but I want to whet your appetite by sharing the news that Laura Mazer, editor at Counterpoint Press (and formerly at Seal Press), will soon be posting a regular feature called “Ask the Editor.”

Laura is a font of publishing wisdom–I learn every time I listen to her–and this is your chance to ask her anything you’ve been wanting to know but had no one to ask. Ok, I’ll start. First question for Laura: “What is it about a good book proposal that *really* turns you on?” (Laura’s response, coming soon!)